Firm Undergrowth

Before you were born…

On the edge of the forest down by the sweetest river bank
a single solitary rabbit, decided that he was lonely one day
and figured he would strike up a conversation with a dove who had landed solely for a cool drink of water.
After a few moments of listening to the dove sing, the rabbit knew
that he had fallen in love with the dove.
The dove, who had never known love before,
upon the exclamation of affection delivered by the rabbit,
felt like the only way possible to show gratitude for the flattery was to mimic the rabbit’s emotion.
Throughout the winter the dove stayed in the rabbit’s burrow, feeling conflicted.
She was so enamored with the silver tongued hare but at the same time, longed for the sky.
The rabbit told the dove, as painful as it was to do, that if she wasn’t happy with him underground, after all that he had given up for her- a wonderful rabbit wife and hundreds of bunnies- she was always free to leave.
At the first sign of spring that is the exact thing she did.
As she flew away they both realized instantly that they couldn’t love each other more at that moment.
Every winter, the dove would fly back to the rabbit’s cave
to keep each other warm until the earth renewed.
They loved each other intensely all winter and every spring the dove would go see the world.
On the dove’s final trip back underground,
she noticed that the rabbit was not alone.
His den was full of all of his beautiful happy and hungry babies, his mate and all of her relatives,smiling.
He cried in her ear after dark while babies slept
about how much he still loved her at the edge of the sweetest river
but now that circumstances had changed due to her poor decision making skills,
they could never be together truly, not like before until she made a choice-
It was either him or flight.
This was all your fault, he proclaimed, hopping away, prove that you love me as much as I love you, he declared.
She was so distraught that she circled the hole for hours, for days, for months, each time- the circle getting wider as to not been seen by the rabbit’s family and friends.
Years went by as she circled, crying, dying inside, unable to fly away, unable to drink the water at the sweetest river’s edge.
The baby rabbits grew up as she circled.
The mother of the rabbits died as the dove went ’round.
All of the rabbits ended up leaving the cave except for her beloved.
She moved her circle closer to him.
On the day that the rabbit was finally free, a starving coyote noticed the exhausted and delirious dove, captured it easily and filled its belly with it.
Saddened, the single solitary silver haired and silver tongued rabbit,
decided that he was lonely and figured he would strike up a conversation with a young blue jay
who had landed solely for a cool drink of water.

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Queen Rude

Poet and Author originally from Indianapolis, Indiana, lover of words, expressions and creativity. Mother of one, Member of the Ohio Poetry Association, former member of the California Writers Club, Winner of the Barry Wright Scholarship for Poetry and consummate Dorothy Parker, Nikki Giovanni and Pablo Neruda fangirl.
View all posts by Queen Rude